


The first day of the rest of our lives

by AsukaX



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: F/F, Love Confessions, Minor Violence, Not Beta Read, Pre-Relationship, and it shows
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 19:29:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30043602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsukaX/pseuds/AsukaX
Summary: A year after their momentous meeting in the desert, a nervous Quynh works up the courage to confess her feelings for Andromache.A fill for the TOG femslash fortnight event - Day 8: Confessions
Relationships: Andy | Andromache of Scythia/Quynh | Noriko
Comments: 8
Kudos: 17
Collections: The Old Guard Femslash Fortnight





	The first day of the rest of our lives

“You seem distracted, Quynh.”

Lying on her back as the desert dust settled all around her, Quynh drew a shaky breath, wondering whether one could truly die of embarrassment.

She coughed and blinked up at Andromache, who was standing over her, a bemused smile on her lips. “It’s not like you to let me take you down so easily.”

Quynh sighed, shutting her eyes as a mixture of frustration and shame washed over her. “Maybe I let you win on purpose.”

Andromache burst out laughing. “Now that would be a first.”

Breathing out a sigh, Quynh let her mind flow back to just a few moments ago, when she’d had the taller woman half bent over and trapped in a tight hold under her arm, Andromache’s head pressed tightly to the side of her chest in an effort to force her off balance. She’d gotten much better at grappling in the year since they had met, and today was supposed to be just another regular training session.

But as she looked down at her struggling partner and friend, her mind suddenly became hyperaware of each place their bodies were touching, from where Andromache’s face was pressed so near her rapidly beating heart, to where her arms were wrapped tightly around Quynh’s own waist.

Worst of all, she couldn’t take her eyes off Andromache’s reddened cheeks or sweat-dotted forehead, and her ears seemed to burn as she listened to the older woman’s strained grunts and exhalations. Taken out of context, it almost sounded like –

And then suddenly the earth seemed to fall from under her feet, and her eyes were no longer filled with the sight of Andromache but instead suddenly caught on the horizon, then the clear blue sky, then the flashing rays of the sun –

Then her entire body was slammed backwards into the ground, knocking the breath out of her lungs.

“Quynh?”

Realizing that she still had her eyes closed, Quynh warily opened them again.

Andromache was still standing over her, but this time had her hand extended downwards, a clear invitation for her to take it and pull herself back to her feet.

It reminded her too much of the day they had first met, in another desert, under another sun.

Almost growling in frustration, she snapped an arm up and slapped her palm against Andromache’s, letting her partner pull her to her feet.

As she stood there trying to get her bearings once again, she felt Andromache’s hand moving up and down her back, brushing the dust off her. “What’s on your mind today?” she was asking. “You almost had me back there.”

“I’m just tired,” she said curtly. “I just need a break. We’ve been training for hours.”

Andromache straightened up and took a step back. “Sure,” she said carefully. “Go rest for a while. We can pick this up again tomorrow.”

Quynh pursed her lips and nodded, immediately turning on her heel to head back to their tent where their supplies were, not daring to look back at her friend.

Was this what hell was like?

* * *

Even as a child, Quynh had been notorious for her outspokenness and sharp tongue. This had often caused arguments with her peers, leading to numerous verbal and physical fights, and causing her parents to lament what to do with such a strong-willed daughter.

Everyone thought that she would eventually calm down, and marry one of the young men in the village like her two sisters before her, but it soon became obvious that Quynh would not be so easily tamed. Her temper grew no less volatile, and her skill with a bow increased far beyond merely being good enough to hunt for food.

When she eventually announced that she would be leaving her village to travel north and make a life for herself, her parents had wept and pleaded loudly with her to reconsider, but strangely enough, had made no effort to truly prevent her from leaving. Perhaps by then, they had already understood that it would have been pointless to try.

That had been half a lifetime ago, during which time she had cultivated a name for herself as a fierce warrior and occasional mercenary, traveling all across the continent making her fortune. Her brash attitude had earned her both friends and rivals, but no one could deny that she was indeed a talented fighter. Rich clients had been more than eager to hire her to defend their helpless wives and daughters on long travels through bandit-infested roads, where she could put her archery and sword skills to good use.

Until that fateful mission, when the merchant caravan she had been hired to guard had been attacked by a particularly organized and large group of bandits, leaving her and her fellow hired mercenaries quickly overwhelmed. Her last memory had been of choking on her own blood in the sand, listening to the screams of the people she was supposed to be protecting as they were ruthlessly cut down.

She had awoken at nightfall with her clothing bloodstained and torn, with corpses all around her. After several hours of confusion and terror, she had scavenged whatever supplies that had not been destroyed or taken, and begun traveling on foot towards where she hoped the nearest city lay.

Her journey was long and hard, and her supplies had finished within a few days. She tried to sleep wherever she was able to find shelter, but her dreams were interrupted with visions of a strange pale woman, riding a horse through the desert.

Several days after the caravan attack, she had awoken from what had to be her fifth death from exposure to gaze upon the silhouette of a tall woman standing over her, a hand held out.

Oh, the fever dream of those early days, as Andromache had explained what had really happened to her, what she was now, and of her coming to the realization that she could no longer go back to her old life. Andromache had explained, “You can go mad here in the desert, or you can follow me.” And, really, it had been no choice at all.

During their long year of traveling together towards the land where Andromache had said that another one of their kind was residing (“You will like him,” Andromache had said. “And I know Lykon will certainly appreciate your skills with a bow.”) Quynh had come to rely upon Andromache for not just insight into their immortality, but also her companionship.

Indeed, she began to realize that the older woman – although Andromache had yet to reveal just how old she really was – hid a soft heart underneath her cold demeanor, and Quynh had been delighted the first time she had heard her laugh at one of her stories about her past adventures.

And as Quynh found herself wondering what else she could do to make Andromache laugh again, she came to the slow realization that perhaps her new life wasn’t going to be so easy after all.

* * *

Sitting in their shared tent, Quynh gulped down a mouthful of water as she contemplated her next course of action. Andromache was taking a quick nap across from her, leaning back against a pack of their supplies with her eyes closed, her own waterskin resting on her belly.

As she gazed upon the face of the woman who had become both her teacher and her friend, Quynh knew that at some point she would have to face up to the feelings that were growing in her heart. Specifically, her feelings that were growing for Andromache.

In her old life, she’d come to the realization that her desires lay towards women, and in her line of work there had been no shortage of lonely wives or shy maidens for her to flirt with or seduce. She had tried to be sensible with her conquests, never staying longer than she had to, nor lingering too long with a single woman. And the moment she sensed that her lover was intending to ask her to stay, she would pack her bags and leave.

But she could not imagine doing the same thing to Andromache.

Looking at the dozing Scythian warrior, she had no idea how her feelings would be received, but she knew that she could no longer allow herself to be distracted by them any longer.

She took a deep breath. “Andromache – ” she began to say.

The woman in question started at the sound of her voice, body jerking in surprise. “What?” she asked, eyes darting around the tent, before settling on her face.

Quynh’s words stuck in her throat. “I,” she began again, “I – want to try grappling again.”

Andromache blinked a few times. “Oh. Sure, we can do that.”

Quynh nodded, her face beginning to burn with shame.

Surprisingly, their second round of grappling went a little better, Andromache seeming to sense that Quynh still had something on her mind and going slightly easier on her as a result. She didn’t call attention to the fact, however, instead taking the lesson a few steps back and giving quick instructions for where Quynh could move her hands and feet in order to get a better grip.

By the time they stopped for another break, Quynh was feeling her confidence return to her. She wiped the sweat from her brow as she watched Andromache walk back to their tent. The older woman bent down to pick up her waterskin, turning around to call back, “Do you want yours?”

“No, I am fine.”

Andromache nodded and began walking back towards her, waterskin in hand. “You’re getting better,” she was saying. “I should teach you something new this time.”

“That would be good,” Quynh said, watching Andromache unstop her waterskin and bring it to her lips, tilting her head back slightly to drink. Her eyes lingered on the long column of her throat as it bobbed up and down with each gulp. Her heart began to beat a little faster, and she knew that it was either now, or never.

“I’m falling in love with you,” she suddenly blurted out.

Andromache paused mid-swallow, her whole body going rigid in shock.

Quynh tried again. “I’m falling in love with you,” she said, her voice a little softer this time. “And I wanted you to know it.”

Andromache finished swallowing her water and dropped her arm, her eyes meeting Quynh’s.

The entire world seemed to fall silent as the two women looked at each other. Quynh searched Andromache’s face, trying to decipher the look in her eyes. Shock, yes. But no horror or disgust, she noted with relief.

Finally, Andromache spoke. “Well,” she began. “I did not expect that.”

It was Quynh’s turn to be surprised. “What did you expect, then?”

Andromache’s eyes fell down to their feet, and she huffed out a sigh, her shoulders losing their tension. “As a matter of fact, I was wondering if you were going to tell me you were planning on leaving.” She looked back up at her. “It looked like you were building up the courage to say it.”

Quynh was stunned. “What? No! When have I ever mentioned wanting to leave?”

Andromache shook her head. “You’ve been acting as though you had something on your mind but were too afraid to say it. What else was I supposed to think?”

“Not that I would leave you, for one thing!” Quynh grew indignant. “We’ve been together every day for a year. If I had wanted to leave you, I would have done so long ago.”

“Well, I figured out that you would want to go back home to see your people one day.”

“No, I – ” Quynh paused. “I no longer want to do that.” And as the words left her mouth, she knew that they were true. There was no way that she could return home as she was. And not if it meant leaving Andromache. “I want to stay here by your side, until the end.”

Andromache laughed softly. “The end might never come, you know.”

“I know,” Quynh said. “That’s what I’m hoping for.”

The other woman began shaking her head. “You’ve only known me for a year,” she said. “What if we – ”

“Do you feel the same way for me?” Quynh asked.

Andromache sighed. There was another long pause as they both looked at each other. At long last, Andromache said, “I care for you very much, Quynh. But I don’t know if you will still feel that way a thousand years from now, or even a hundred. Life works differently for our kind. I know this.”

“Then give me one day at a time,” Quynh said.

“You’re serious?” A smile began to form on Andromache’s face. Quynh felt her heart begin to soar again.

“Yes,” she replied, her mind rapidly working out the next words to say. “I meant it when I said I wanted to stay by your side. And if I can get you to fall in love with me, you have to promise that you will never leave me, either.”

At that, Andromache burst out laughing. But it was not cruel. Quynh looked on hopefully.

After a few moments, Andromache paused in her laughter, trying to catch her breath. “Oh,” she gasped, throwing her eyes up at the sky, “what did the gods lead me to in that desert?”

Quynh took a few steps forward. “So, what is your answer?”

Eyes twinkling, Andromache replied, “You can try, little sister. But my heart is not so easy to win.”

Quynh found herself grinning. “I didn’t expect it to be.”

**Author's Note:**

> Well, everyone has their own idea of How They Got Together, and this is one of mine. I have always thought that Quynh, being a 'newer' immortal, might have less of a filter regarding her emotions, while Andromache would be a bit more wary, considering all her long centuries (possibly millennia at this point) of experiences.
> 
> The dialogue at the end is based on an actual real-life love confession I was a part of. No prizes for guessing whether I was Andromache, Quynh, or just a hapless third party within earshot in that situation. LOL!
> 
> Anyway, any feedback/comments would be most welcome!


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